EU Looks to encourage rail and sea transport in Italy

The EU commission has founded two Italian public schemes to help encourage the shift from road transport to rail and to sea. The schemes are aimed to help achieve environmental and transport objectives.

Marebonus

Marebonus has a budget of €138 million to help shift freight transport from road to sea. This will lead to less pollution and less traffic on the roads. Majority of the budget will go to shippers to help cover the cost of extra services and upgrading existing shipping routes.

The Rail Freight scheme

The EU is aiming to spend €255 million. The majority of this money will go to subsidising rail transport operators. This will bring down the prices of rail transport and make it more appealing to freight transport companies; this will lead to lower road congestions. Also, this scheme will help the EU lower carbon emissions since rail freight transport is less polluting alternative to road freight transport.